TWENTIETH SESSION OF THE GOVERNING COUNCIL
OF THE UNITED NATIONS HUMAN SETTLEMENTS PROGRAMME:

4-8 APRIL 2005

The
20th session of the Governing Council of the UN Human Settlements
Programme (UN-HABITAT) opens today at the UN Office at Nairobi, Kenya,
and continues through 8 April 2005. The high-level segment will focus
on: the activities of the UN-HABITAT; implementing and monitoring the
goal of the UN Millennium Declaration on improving the lives of slum
dwellers; and the work programme and budget of UN-HABITAT for the
biennium 2006-2007. Dialogues with local authorities and other partners
will focus on: recommendations on decentralization and the strengthening
of local authorities, and financing shelter and urban development. The
Committee of the Whole will discuss two special themes: involvement of
civil society in improving local governance, and post-conflict, natural
and man-made disasters assessment and reconstruction. It will also draft
decisions on issues related to: activities of UN-HABITAT; implementing
and monitoring the goal of the UN Millennium Declaration; the work
programme and budget for the biennium 2006-2007; coordination between
UN-HABITAT and other UN agencies; and the themes for next session and
other future sessions.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF UN-HABITAT

As a
result of the First United Nations Conference on Human Settlements,
which took place in Vancouver, Canada, from 31 May-11 June 1976, the
Vancouver Declaration on Human Settlements officially established the UN
Center for Human Settlements as the major UN agency mandated by the UN
General Assembly to promote socially and environmentally sustainable
towns and cities, with the goal of providing adequate shelter for all.
By General Assembly resolution 32/162 of 19 December 1977, the
Commission for Human Settlements was also established as the governing
body for the UN Center for Human Settlements.

HABITAT II: The
Second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) met
in Istanbul, Turkey, from 3-14 June 1996, on the 20th anniversary of the
first Habitat Conference. The Habitat Agenda and the Istanbul
Declaration on Human Settlements, adopted by 171 governments during the
Conference, outlined over 100 commitments and strategies to address
shelter and sustainable human settlements, emphasizing the themes of
partnership and local action. Habitat II, as the culmination of a cycle
of UN conferences, witnessed the participation of local authorities, the
private sector, parliamentarians, NGOs and other partners in the
formulation of the Habitat Agenda. When the international community
adopted the Habitat Agenda, it set itself the twin goals of achieving
adequate shelter for all and sustainable human settlements development.
After much debate, the Conference also reaffirmed the commitment to the
full and progressive realization of the right to adequate housing.

ISTANBUL+5:The 25th Special Session of the UN
General Assembly for an overall review and appraisal of progress made in
the implementation of the outcome of Habitat II took place from 6-8 June
2001, at UN headquarters in New York. At the special session, the
General Assembly adopted the Declaration on Cities and Other Human
Settlements in the New Millennium, which consists of a political
declaration reaffirming the Istanbul Declaration on Human Settlements
and the Habitat Agenda; a review and assessment of implementation of the
Habitat Agenda; and proposals for further actions for achieving the
goals of adequate shelter for all and sustainable development of human
settlements.

56TH SESSION OF THE UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY:In its resolution 56/206 of 21 December
2001, the General Assembly decided to transform the United Nations
Centre for Human Settlements into the United Nations Human Settlements
Programme, UN-HABITAT. The General Assembly also decided, in the same
resolution, to transform the Commission on Human Settlements into the
Governing Council of UN-HABITAT. The Governing Council, which was also
made into a subsidiary body of the General Assembly, reports to the
General Assembly through the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and
provides overall policy guidance, direction and supervision to
UN-HABITAT. The resolution stressed a commitment to the implementation
of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), including the need to improve
the lives of over 100 million slum dwellers by 2020. The resolution also
called for the election and enhancement of the status of the Executive
Director of UN-HABITAT to the level of Under-Secretary-General. In July
2002, Anna K. Tibaijuka was unanimously elected by the General Assembly
as Executive Director of UN-HABITAT for a four-year term.

FIRST SESSION OF THE WORLD URBAN FORUM: Designated by the UN General Assembly as an
advisory body, the World Urban Forum (WUF) is an open-ended think tank
designed to encourage debate and discussion about the challenges of
urbanization in this century. The first session of the WUF was held in
Nairobi, Kenya, from 29 April-3 May 2002. The overall theme was
sustainable urbanization. Discussions also focused on: the effect of
HIV/AIDS on human settlements; violence against women; basic services
and infrastructure, including provision of water and sanitation; and the
need for secure tenure.

WORLD SUMMIT ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT:The World Summit on Sustainable
Development convened in Johannesburg, South Africa, from 26 August–4
September 2002. The Johannesburg Plan of Implementation (JPOI), adopted
in Johannesburg, calls for achieving a significant improvement in the
lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers by 2020, as proposed in the
“Cities without Slums” initiative. The JPOI calls for actions at all
levels to: improve access to land and property, adequate shelter and
basic services for the urban and rural poor; use low-cost and
sustainable materials and appropriate technologies for the construction
of adequate and secure housing for the poor; increase decent employment,
credit and income; remove unnecessary regulation and other obstacles for
microenterprises and the informal sector; and support slum upgrading
programmes within the framework of urban development plans.

19TH SESSION OF THE UN-HABITAT GOVERNING COUNCIL:This session took place in Nairobi,
Kenya, from 5-9 May 2003. The purpose of the session was to discuss
follow-up to the special session of the UN General Assembly for an
overall review and appraisal of the implementation of the Habitat
Agenda. The special themes of the session were urban development
strategies and sheltering strategies favoring the poor, and the rural
dimension of sustainable urban development. The session reviewed
activities of UN-HABITAT, adopted its work programme and budget for the
biennium 2004-2005 and its medium plan for 2006-2009. The session also
adopted 18 resolutions covering topics ranging from women’s role and
rights in human settlements development and slum upgrading, to water and
sanitation, and decentralization and strengthening of local authorities.

INTERSESSIONAL HIGHLIGHTS

CSD-12: The
twelfth session of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD-12)
was held from 19-30 April 2004, at UN headquarters in New York. CSD-12
undertook an evaluation of progress in the implementation of Agenda 21,
the Programme for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21, and the JPOI,
focusing on identifying constraints, obstacles, successes and lessons
learned with regard to water, sanitation and human settlements. The
Commission also heard reports from the UN Regional Commissions on the
status of implementation, and from Major Groups on their contribution to
implementation. A high-level segment, attended by over 100 ministers and
addressed by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, was held from 28-30 April.
At the conclusion of CSD-12, the Commission adopted the report of the
session, which includes a Chairï¿½s Summary, reflecting inputs from the
session and records of activities held as part of the Partnerships Fair
and Learning Centre.

SECOND SESSION OF THE WORLD URBAN FORUM:
The second session of the WUF took place from 13-17 September 2004, in
Barcelona, Spain. Participants discussed progress on achieving Goal 7 of
the Millennium Development Goals, on environmental sustainability,
including target 10 on water and sanitation, and target 11 on improving
the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers by the year 2020.
Participants also addressed gender equality, urban culture, poverty,
safety, disaster preparedness and reconstruction.

INTERREGIONAL CONFERENCE ON THE URBAN-RURAL LINKAGES
APPROACH TO DEVELOPMENT: The
Interregional Conference on the Urban-Rural Linkages Approach to
Development was held in Nairobi, Kenya, from 1-4 October 2004, to create
and promote awareness, exchange experience and build capacity among
national economic and social development decision-makers and planners,
their policy advisers and urban-rural development actors, on the need
for enhancing the balanced territorial development of both rural and
urban areas.

FIRST AFRICAN MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE ON HOUSING AND URBAN
DEVELOPMENT:The First African Ministerial
Conference on Housing and Urban Development (AMCHUD) took place in
Durban, South Africa, from 31 January-4 February 2005. The conference
theme was Urbanization, Shelter and Development: Towards an Enhanced
Framework for Sustainable Cities and Towns in Africa. The ministers
adopted a Declaration on the establishment of the AMCHUD, as the
consultative mechanism on the promotion of sustainable development of
human settlements in Africa, normally meeting every two years before the
UN-HABITAT Governing Council session, under the auspices of the African
Union. The ministers also adopted an Enhanced Framework of
Implementation and Related Outputs for more effective African urban
development policies and strategies. The enhanced framework set out
Africaï¿½s priority for UN-HABITAT GC, CSD-13 and the Millennium Review
Meeting, particularly highlighting poverty as a crosscutting issue
applying to water, sanitation and human settlements.

INTERGOVERNMENTAL PREPARATORY MEETING FOR THE 13TH
SESSION OF THE COMMISSION ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: The intergovernmental Preparatory Meeting for the
13th Session of the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD-13) took
place from 28 February-4 March 2005, in New York. Participants
considered policy options, interlinkages and cross-cutting aspects on
water, sanitation and human settlements, the three themes for the
CSD-12/CSD-13 Implementation Cycle. These discussions were reflected in
a draft Chairï¿½s text, which is expected to form the basis of further
discussions during CSD-13, scheduled to meet from 11-22 April 2005, in
New York.

PREPARATORY MEETING FOR THE UNITED NATIONS ECONOMIC AND
SOCIAL COUNCILï¿½S 2005 HIGH-LEVEL SEGMENT:
The preparatory meeting for ECOSOC 2005 high-level segment took place on
16-17 March 2005, in New York. The meeting focused on: achieving the
internationally agreed development goals, including those contained in
the Millennium Declaration, as well as implementing the outcomes of the
major UN Conferences and summits; eradication of poverty and hunger;
education and literacy; health and mortality; global partnerships and
financing development; gender equality and the empowerment of women; and
environmental sustainability. The outcomes of the preparatory meeting
will feed into ECOSOCï¿½s High-level and Coordination Segments, which will
take place as part of the substantive ECOSOC session from 29 June-27
July 2005, in New York.

UN-HABITAT YOUTH FORUM:
The Forum is taking place in Nairobi from 3-4 April 2005, immediately
prior to the GC session. The Forum sought to contribute to the GC agenda
through, inter alia:
consolidating the youth agenda for the session; informing youth on
relevant UN-HABITAT initiatives; finalizing the youth consultative
mechanism; and formulating the youth message to GC-20. Amongst topics
discussed were: youth and MDGs; local governance; and strategies for
engagement in the Global Partnership for Urban Youth in Africa. In its
final statement ï¿½Youth and Human Settlements,ï¿½ the Forum called for
strengthening the work of UN-HABITAT on the engagement of youth in human
settlements development.

This issue of
the Earth Negotiations
Bulletin ï¿½ <enb@iisd.org>
is written and edited by
Changbo Bai, Xenya Cherny,
William McPherson, Ph.D.,
and Elisa Morgera. The
Digital Editor is David
Fernau. The Editor is Pamela
S. Chasek, Ph.D. <pam@iisd.org>
and the Director of IISD
Reporting Services is
Langston James ï¿½Kimoï¿½ Goree
VI <kimo@iisd.org>.
The Sustaining Donors of the
Bulletin are the
Government of the United
States of America (through
the Department of State
Bureau of Oceans and
International Environmental
and Scientific Affairs), the
Government of Canada
(through CIDA), the Swiss
Agency for Environment,
Forests and Landscape (SAEFL),
the United Kingdom (through
the Department for
International Development -
DFID), the Danish Ministry
of Foreign Affairs, the
Government of Germany
(through the German Federal
Ministry of Environment -
BMU, and the German Federal
Ministry of Development
Cooperation - BMZ), the
Netherlands Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, and the
European Commission (DG-ENV).
General Support for the
Bulletin during 2005 is
provided by the United
Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP), the
Government of Australia, the
Austrian Federal Ministry of
Agriculture, Forestry,
Environment and Water
Management, the Ministry of
Sustainable Development and
the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs of Sweden, the
Ministry of Environment and
the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs of Norway, the
Ministry of Environment and
the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs of Finland, Swan
International, the Japanese
Ministry of Environment
(through the Institute for
Global Environmental
Strategies - IGES) and the
Japanese Ministry of
Economy, Trade and Industry
(through the Global
Industrial and Social
Progress Research Institute
- GISPRI), and the Italian
Ministry of Environment.
Funding for translation of
the Earth Negotiations
Bulletin into French has
been provided by the
International Organization
of the Francophonie (IOF)
and the French Ministry of
Foreign Affairs. Funding for
the translation of the
Earth Negotiations Bulletin
into Spanish has been
provided by the Ministry of
Environment of Spain. The
opinions expressed in the
Earth Negotiations Bulletin
are those of the authors
and do not necessarily
reflect the views of IISD or
other donors. Excerpts from
the Earth Negotiations
Bulletin may be used in
non-commercial publications
with appropriate academic
citation. For information on
the Bulletin,
including requests to
provide reporting services,
contact the Director of IISD
Reporting Services at <kimo@iisd.org>,
+1-646-536-7556 or 212 East
47th St. #21F, New York, NY
10017, USA. The ENB Team at
GC-20 can be contacted by
e-mail at <changbo@iisd.org>.